Vance-Granville Community College’s Adult Basic Skills department is sending a message to students who have started but not completed the five-part GED test: “Make a New Year’s Resolution to complete your GED in 2013.” There is a sense of urgency because the current version of the GED, known as the 2002 Series GED Test, will expire at the end of the year. The national GED Testing Service will replace that series with a new version on Jan. 2, 2014. That …
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Friday / Weekend Open Line
This week in 1790, President George Washington addressed a joint session of Congress to deliver the first State of the Union report, as called for the in the still young Constitution. The requirement didn’t demand a speech, and after delivering just one, President Thomas Jefferson began reporting in writing, feeling a speech was too magisterial. The spoken presentation was revived by Woodrow Wilson. Washington’s address has echoes to this day, as he stated “the terms on which foreigners may be …
Nature Research Center celebrates 1 million visitors
New Year’s celebrations kicked off early Monday at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, which celebrated the millionth visitor at its Nature Research Center since it opened in April. The millionth visitor was showered in confetti and received a bag of gifts. The 80,000-square-foot wing features labs where visitors perform the experiments; nearly 80 interactive exhibits, including WRAL Storm Central; a Naturalist Center with touch tables and a submersible that allows visitors to experience what it feels like …
Vance County NC Cooperative Extension Updates
Did you realize you can plant peas in January? For a complete planting guide, visit this link:http://cals.ncsu.edu/hort_sci/extension/documents/AG-756.pdf Also, don’t forget about our Master Gardener Open House this Saturday (10 am at the Vance office, 2 pm at the Warren office). Our Master Gardener volunteer training class will be held on Tuesday mornings beginning in late January. If you are interested but can’t make it to the Open House, just let me know and I’ll send an application packet. Here is …
American Airlines launching LAX-RDU flight
American Airlines has announced a new flight between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and LAX, to start April 2. With a year-round, seven-days-a-week schedule, it’s a step up from the thrice-weekly nonstop Delta offers to Los Angeles during warm months. RDU says about 400 people make the trip each day between the Triangle and Los Angeles on flights that can arrive several hours sooner if there are no stops along the way.
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Jan. 3 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend,” take in the “Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: the Cone Sisters of Baltimore” exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham. Experience the Southern Folklife Collection at the Wilson Library at UNC in Chapel Hill. Stay at one of the rental cabins and enjoy White Sulphur Springs in Mount Airy. Step back in time at the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History. And the “House Special” …
Mount Olive’s Pickle Drop among USA Today’s ’10 Great’
Mount Olive’s New Year’s Eve celebration was among last week’s USA Today’s “10 great places for a family-friendly New Year’s Eve.” The event culminates at 7 p.m. – midnight Greenwich Mean Time – with a 3-foot glowing pickle that’s lowered 50 feet into a tank at the corner of Cucumber and Vine streets, the site of the Mt. Olive Pickle Co.
White House: Seven things you need to know about this tax deal
This week, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. That means middle-class families won’t see an increase in their income tax rates. We’ve avoided the fiscal cliff. President Obama will sign the legislation soon. Last night, he described the agreement as, “one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody.” “Under this law, more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 …
Thursday Open Line
In order to tackle the 19th century’s version of “shovel ready jobs,” the nation’s first engineering college opened on this date in 1825 in Troy, New York, now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At the time, engineering primarily concerned great structures, applying math and physical sciences to bridges, canals, ship-building, fortifications and large buildings. In the years since, engineering has come to be applied to many other fields, such as chemical, electrical, petroleum, and, of course, computers. As a force …
N.C. has another record-breaking year for film, TV
As in 2011, North Carolina witnessed another year of record-breaking film numbers as 2012 comes to an end. Year-end projections show productions had a direct in-state spend in excess of $376 million and created more than 4,100 well-paying crew positions for the state’s highly skilled workforce. Productions created nearly 20,000 job opportunities – including talent and background extra positions – for North Carolinians These numbers eclipsed last year’s record-breaking $220 million in spending and 3,300 crew positions. All told, nearly …
Help Stop Puppy Mills – Sign the Petition
North Carolina is a puppy mill state. North Carolina had more puppy mill busts in both 2011 and 2012 than any other state. Why is this happening? It’s easy for puppy mills to do business in North Carolina because the state’s lack of regulations. In order to shut down puppy mills, we must wait for conditions to be so bad that dogs are suffering and near death. North Carolina needs a law to regulate commercial dog breeders by imposing simple …
Wednesday Open Line
On this day in 1900, President William McKinley’s Secretary of State, John Hay, announced the so-called “open door” policy to stimulate trade with China, free of exclusion by imperial European powers scrambling for control of Chinese markets in the era before the income tax. This was significant because a very large portion of federal revenue came from tariffs or customs on imports. in 1900, federal receipts were around $567 million of which 41 percent were from customs duties. As of …
City of Henderson Public Notice Regarding Electronic Gaming Operations January 14th
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Henderson City Council on Monday, January 14, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers in City Hall located at 134 Rose Avenue in Henderson, North Carolina. The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comment on: Public Hearing: Recommendation for an ordinance providing that electronic gaming operations can be located near professional training schools for adults. Persons interested are invited to attend and present …
Michael Bobbitt: Input Needed on Annual Retreat
In a few weeks our illustrious County Commissioners will attend their annual retreat; where in theory they plan for the future one year at a time. The public is invited to attend this annual retreat as silent observers. For the publics’ voice to be heard at the retreat we must speak in advance of the meeting. This is my attempt to jump start the publics’ input to the annual County Commissioners’ retreat. Water – five years ago the Commissioner started …
Tuesday Open Line
For Americans in 1863, this day was not one especially suited to a greeting of “Happy New Year.” But in a nation riven by Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln used the occasion of the new year to inject a moral component into the crisis by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. While this document was a half-measure, it buttressed the Union cause and led — at the war’s end — to slavery’s elimination. The 1860 Census found the U.S. population to number …
Gov. Perdue Issues Pardon of Innocence for Wilmington 10
Gov. Bev Perdue today signed a Pardon of Innocence for the Wilmington 10 and issued the following statement: “I have spent a great deal of time over the past seven months reviewing the pardon of innocence requests of the persons collectively known as the Wilmington Ten. This topic evokes strong opinions from many North Carolinians as it hearkens back to a very difficult time in our state’s past, a period of racial tensions and violence that represents a dark chapter …
Oxford Preparatory High School Upcoming Community Meetings
Mission: Oxford Preparatory High School’s purpose is to graduate future leaders who have completed a rigorous curriculum, performed community service, and developed an appreciation of the arts in preparation for the challenges of the college of their choice. With support from our diverse community, we will cultivate intellectual curiosity in well-rounded students by engaging in critical thinking and experiential learning. Community Meeting Schedule Oxford -- Thursday 1/17 at 7:00pm -- Richard Thornton Library (Large Meeting Room) Creedmoor -- Tuesday 1/22 …
Senator Richard Burr on Fiscal Cliff
“At this point, I think it is clear that the President is not serious about reaching a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff and is using our economy and the livelihood of American families and businesses for what he sees as political gain,” Burr said. “Jeopardizing our economic recovery and being content to let our economy go over the cliff is a clear indication of where the President’s priorities lie.”
White House Weekly Address: Congress Must Protect the Middle Class from Income Tax Hike
President Obama urges Congress to meet its deadlines and responsibilities, protect the middle class from an income tax hike, and lay the groundwork for future progress on more economic growth and deficit reduction. Welcome to the “Best of the West (Wing Week)!” That’s right, folks, West Wing Week took some time over the holidays to reflect on a busy year in video, and to bring you some highlights from the archive. But first, a quick wrap up of the President’s …
State Treasurer Janet Cowell: My Best Gift
My best gift of the season came in the form of observations from several people that I respect noticing that I have changed, evolved, and grown in my office. The feedback means the world to me because it recognizes a lot of effort and growing pains during my first four-year term as North Carolina’s State Treasurer. More broadly, this provides hope that all of us have the capacity to do things differently, move outside of our comfort zones. Given challenges …